Interview: Lena Puhar O’Grady and Paul O’Grady
Greetings Lena and Paul, it's a pleasure to get to know you. Would you mind sharing something about yourselves for the Online Learning Support users? We're keenly interested in learning about you.
Sure, we are a Croatian - Irish couple living and working in Istria, Croatia for 15 years now. Although from different professional backgrounds, we found our common passion in producing and promoting high quality extra virgin olive oil through our family business. It is a challenging but rewarding lifestyle, which we love to share with anyone interested.
Photo: Lena (Brist archive)
Your story is very interesting as Paul is Irish and Lena is Croatian. Could you share with us how did you first meet?
We met in Zagreb while I (Lena) was studying and Paul had at the time just moved to Croatia. As a little part time gig, Paul was playing guitar in one of Zagreb's pubs called Gogot, we met there and then connected through Irish dancing! Becoming aware of the increasing interest of Croats in the Irish culture, Paul decided to open an Irish dancing school. I was in the first group of the school that grew to become the biggest Irish dancing school in eastern Europe, counting over five hundert dancers. It was good and fun times.
After I got preagnant with our first son, we decided to move to Istria, for a more peaceful lifestyle, more connected to nature, and here we are now, 15 years later, growing a family olive oil business.
As two people from two cultures, Irish and Croatian, how would you define similarities and differences about both cultures?
The Irish and Croatians share many similarities: both cultures are very open and chatty, like to party, like to tell endless stories, they are proud of their heritage and share a similar historical background, to a certain extent.
The Irish are much more skillfull at branding their country and generally, the business culture is at a higher standard. Here, we still tend to to business "the Balkan way", to our great frustration.
Photo: Paul (Brist archive)
What' s the best thing about Ireland? And the best one about Croatia?
Lena: I'd say the best thing about Croatia is the everyday quality of life; the beautiful food, the clean sea and nature in general, a safe enivironment. Ireland - I love its rugged natural beauty, especially the west coast.
Paul: Ireland - professionalism and a high business culture standard, Croatia - its humanity and openness. And delicious food!
Photo: O'Grady family (Brist archive)
Paul published books about his Croatian experience some years ago, what was the experience writing the book?
Paul: I published two books, one ( Ja, tata iz Irske) about the experience of becoming a Dad in Croatia (that was a bestseller for that year) and the other (Moj brod je Hrvatska) as a reflection on all the positives and negatives of living in this country, from a perspective of a foreigner, with the aim of pointing out all Croatia's potentials, of which most Croats are unaware.
It was a new, exciting and cathartic experience, I enjoyed it a lot.
Paul, can you tell us your favourite Croatian anecdote?
There are too many, often concerning my not-so-perfect Croatian at the time I had just moved here... all sorts of funny misunderstandings.
You live in Istria. Can you present the Istrian peninsula to the foreign students?
Istria is a small region in the north west Croatia, a penninsula known for its rich history, architectural heritage, picturesque medieval towns, incredible food, wineyards, truffles and of course, highest quality olive oil.
What would you recommend not to miss in the region? What are your favourite spots?
We both love central Istria most, the area around little hilltop towns of Motovun and Grožnjan, away from the busy touristic coast. That's the real Istria, almost untouched and unspoiled. Not to miss!
Photo: Istria (Brist archive)
Istria shares some common things with Italy, can you explain some more about it?
Historically, Istria has been under the Venetian rule for four centuries, thus a strong influence is seen even today in architectural heritage and gastronomy.
The mentality and the way of life of Istrians is also very similar to Italians, we share some of the dialects too - our local Vodnjan dialect is similar to the Venetian dialect spoken today.
What are your favourite Istrian dishes?
Lena: Mine is maneštra - a thick and hearty soup based on beans, with a generous drizzle of olive oil.
Paul: Pljukanci (istrian hand made traditional pasta) with prosciutto and rucola.
You produce authentic Istrian olive oil. Can you tell us a little bit more.
Yes, we produce high quality extra virgin olive oil from native Istrian olive varieties. We have a beautifully positioned olive grove at the outskirts of Vodnjan in Southern Istria, ovelooking the sea, whaer we do a lot of oleotourism activities - guided tastings, picnics under the stars, interpretive walks. We export in the whole European union and the United States, work with partners in various EU countries, have our oils in retail shops and restaurants. We have been growing our business organically, with the important ethos of being in harmony with nature.
Photo: Brist olive oil from Istria (Brist archive)
Your oil was awknoledged by Gordon Ramsay. Tell us more!
That was a really fun experience, yes. A few summers ago, we were part of an episode of a famous series produced by National Geographic called Uncharted by Gordon Ramsay. He spent an afternoon on our grove, I was teaching him how to prune olive trees and he tasted our oils. We were happy to see he was blown away by the quality of the oils, it made us very proud.
As well, you have gastronomic guided tours for foreigners. How can one join and what he/ she can expect from the experience?
We have an experience called: An Evening Under Olives, that we offer during summer months, from June until the end of September. It consists of an interpretive walk around our olive grove, where we tell the story of our family, life in Istria and all about growing olives and producing olive oil, followed by a sunset timed guided tasting and a candle lit picnic in our grove. It lasts three hours and can be booked online, via our webpage. It's an authentic and lovely experience, people really love it.
Photo: Olive tasting experience (Brist archive)
And where can we find your oil?
You are always welcome to visit us in Vodnjan, in our shop or on the grove, have a guided tasting and decide which oil you like most :-)
All oils can also be ordered online via our webshop and delivered throughout the EU within a couple of days.
Photo: Brist olive oil (Brist archive)
Would you say gastronomy is important for culture? How are Croatian and Irish food cultures different? How do you combine them in your family?
They are very different, Istria being a typical Mediterranean-based cuisine, with lots of veggies, fish, fruits and olive ol, while Ireland is, well, not so diverse, although I love the soup of the day plus soda bread plus butter that you can have at every pub there.
In our household we eat local and seasonal food, Paul doesn't really miss his mum's cooking!
Photo: Olive oil tasting with Lena (Brist archive)
Paul has to learn some Croatian while living here. What was his experience like?
Paul speaks Croatian and uses it on daily basis, it's the most difficult language he had to learn, he calls it: latin on steroids!
What are your favourite Croatian words/ expressions?
Šišmiš (bat)!
What are some useful language tips while studiing a foreign language?
Just go through it head first, don't overthink and fine-tune along the way.
Lena, you're an art historian and an archeologist. Can you recommend us some interesting sites in Croatia that shouldn't be missed?
In Istria, the amphitheatre in Pula is definitely worth a visit, as well as Brijuni National Park, with stunning archaeological sites from Roman times.
Photo: Vodnjan (Brist archive)
Which is your favourite European country besides Croatia and why?
I love Italy, there's so much beauty in this country, every single little town is a little pearl, a ever ending exploration. Plus the food of course. Gelato - my favourite.
Have you participated in a student exchange program? If yes, would you be open to sharing your experiences? If not, do you harbor any regrets about not taking part in such an opportunity?
Paul came to Croatia through a student exchange program, back in the early 2000s, he studied architecture and spent a summer working in Osijek. Had he not spent time In Croatia and fallen in love with its people, our lives would have turned much differently.
I have never participated in such programs and regret it big time. There was less opportunity for us to do so, not yet being part of the EU. We will definitely support our kids to use every opportunity to participate in student exchange programs and learn about other cultures, we believe it’s of utmost importance.
What Croatian song do you currently have on your playlist?
Paul likes Gibonni, I like Urban & 4.
What are your future plans?
To keep growing at a sustainable pace, finish our new business premises and broaden our services In terms of cooking classes, In-depth olive oil tasting and food pairings, organize small ecological weddings.
Spend time with our kids, travel more, learn how to properly rest.
Photo: Centennial buza olive trees (Brist archive)
Can you share with us some interesting traditional recipe?
Sure, a quick recipe for Istrian manestra:
Combine drained beans, prosciutto bone, ribs, carrot, parsnip, bay leaf, celery, and sweet corn in a stockpot. Cover with water and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Stir occasionally and let it simmer for 2 hours. When the soup is 10 minutes away from completing 2 hours of cooking, cook the pasta separately in boiling water.
Remove the ribs and prosciutto bone from the soup. Extract any meat from the bone and ribs and return it to the soup. In a frypan, heat olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic until golden. Add paprika and tomato, sauté for another minute, then add this mixture to the soup along with the cooked pasta. Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper according to your preference. Serve the maneštra with plenty of crusty bread for dipping and some delicious olive oil!
Thank you, Lena and Paul, for taking the time. Wishing you the best of luck with your endeavors. Puno hvala i sretno! :)
Loreta, OLS Community Manager – Croatian